‘His man management is exceptional’ – Danny Cipriani compares England boss Eddie Jones to Chelsea’s Antonio Conte
Eddie Jones’ man management style is as important as Chelsea boss Antonio Conte's, according to Wasps and England man Danny Cipriani.
After replacing Stuart Lancaster as England rugby’s head coach, Jones has enjoyed huge success at the helm and led the national team to 18 consecutive wins before defeat to Ireland in the final game of the 2017 Six Nations.
Speaking to the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, Cipriani highlighted the Australian’s man management skills as a vital component to his success and compared it to Blues boss Conte as Chelsea look set to seal the Premier League title.
“Obviously Eddie Jones has come in - he’s gone to Bayern Munich, he’s gone to all those football clubs - and he’s seen what that’s like,” said the 29-year-old, who has made 14 appearances for England.
“I am not sure what it was like in previous regimes but it might have had an influence.
“You can just see what it’s like with Antonio Conte, where he’s come in, and you can clearly see his man management is exceptional because the players play for him.
“It is the same group of players that Mourinho had but it’s a completely different set up. It’s what it looks like.
“That man management side of things just goes a long way to keeping the squad in a happy place.”
Cipriani also gave his thoughts on the upcoming European Champions Cup final taking place on Saturday between Saracens and Clermont.
“It’s going to be an outstanding game,” he explained.
“I can’t look too far past Saracens because of their coaching set up and their playing squad.
“But Clermont is the one side that is going to push them as close as they can go.
“Clermont have every individual, they have the whole package. They are a great team and when they are playing at home their French support is like nothing else.
“I just think that Saracens squad is so well drilled. Two players were rested last week and they are going to come out all guns blazing to get that win.”